


Too Many Movie References

by Kythe42



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Established Relationship, F/M, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2015-01-09
Packaged: 2018-03-04 06:18:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2955374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kythe42/pseuds/Kythe42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During an outing with Emma, Hook starts to suffer from an allergic reaction and Emma does her best to take care of him and help him through it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Adult Themes
> 
> Spoilers: Spoilers for up to the Season 3 finale.
> 
> Author's Notes: This story was originally written before Season 4 aired and was supposed to take place shortly after the end of Season 3. Then it turned out that Season 4 started immediately after Season 3 ended, so just because of how the story was written and how Season 4 turned out, I want to say that it should actually take place during Season 4 between episodes 3 and 4. Because of these circumstances though, there won't be any mention made of any events that happen during Season 4 except for a few small details that are pure coincidence and there is some stuff that contradicts events some stuff from Season 4 a bit as well.

"Where exactly are we going?" Hook asked after Emma had stopped for the fifth time to look around. They had been wandering through the woods for at least twenty minutes and he was starting to get impatient.

 

"I told you, it's a surprise. I'll find the place soon, don't worry." Emma examined her surroundings once more before she started walking again. "Just try to enjoy the forest. How often is it that we get to do this sort of thing without it being because we're chasing some enemy, running from them, or rescuing someone?"

 

Hook grinned. "I'm pretty sure the answer to that question is never."

 

"Exactly," said Emma, "so try not to take it for granted."

 

Hook sighed. "I've never much been one for forests. It would be easier to enjoy myself if we were on a ship on the open sea. Just the two of us with the wind blowing though our hair. I'd throw you down on the deck and---" he stopped short as Emma punched him playfully in the arm. "Well you can't blame a man for dreaming."

 

Emma just rolled her eyes in response. She stopped to look around once more. "Hey I think it's there, just up that path." When they reached the end of the path it opened up into a wide clearing full of wildflowers. It was surrounded on three sides by the forest, but the side opposite of where they entered was open to a wide stream. "Yep this is the place."

 

Hook took a look around and smiled. "I must admit it is quite lovely, though not as lovely as the company I'm with."

 

"Granny told me about this place. She said it was the perfect getaway for lovers," Emma replied with a smirk on her face.

 

Hook chuckled. "Did she now?"

 

"Yeah, she's a bit of a Yenta."

 

"What's a Yenta?" Hook asked with a puzzled expression on his face.

 

"Yenta is a character in a movie called Fiddler on the Roof. She was a matchmaker," Emma explained.

 

"I see. And why was there a fiddler on the roof?"

 

Emma laughed. "I'm not sure. I think it was supposed to be some sort of metaphor. We can watch the movie sometime if you want."

 

"I don't know," said Hook uncertainly. "All of the movies you've shown me thus far have left me quite bewildered. I couldn't make much sense of those Back to the Future movies you showed me. Though the plot of part one bared an eerie similarity to what we went through when we went back in time."

 

"Yeah, that's why I wanted you to see it. It was freaky."

 

"And those Pirates of the Caribbean movies weren't very historically accurate. I should know, I was formerly in the British Royal Navy. And that Captain Jack Sparrow was utterly ridiculous. He would not have survived for very long in the real world."

 

"The part about pirates wearing eyeliner sure was accurate," Emma muttered under her breath.

 

Hook narrowed his eyes. "What was that?"

 

"Nothing. Look, they were meant to be entertaining, not educational." She couldn't believe he was getting hung up on movies right now. "Ok enough talk, come on." She took Hook's hand and they walked to the center of the clearing where she then lay down on the ground.

 

"What's wrong?" Hook asked. "Are you feeling ill?"

 

Emma laughed. "I'm fine. Come lie down next to me." She patted the ground next to her.

 

"Oh I see." He grinned and started to unbuckle his belt.

 

Emma rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant. Just lie down."

 

Looking confused Hook refastened his belt and lay down next to her. "What exactly did you have in mind then?"

 

"Haven't you ever gone cloud watching?" she asked.

 

"Only when at sea to judge when a storm was coming and how severe it would be, but never as a recreational pursuit," Hook answered.

 

"Well it's a fun way to relax, to just lie back and watch the different shapes the clouds make as they go by. Sometimes they even form the shape of objects or animals. See that cloud there looks a bit like a rabbit." Emma pointed to a cloud a bit to their left.

 

Hook looked where she was pointing and the cloud did indeed look a bit like the head of a rabbit. He was skeptical though as to how this could be considered fun, but he would try anything for her.

 

Emma saw the look of doubt on his face. "If you do this with me for a little while we can go skinny dipping in the stream afterwards. I think it might be deep enough to swim in."

 

"Skinny dipping?"

 

"It means going swimming with no clothes on," she explained.

 

"Oh! Yes I think I'd be most agreeable to that." He flashed her one of his devilish grins and Emma laughed knowing he was now picturing her naked. They both pointed out a few cloud shapes, but there wasn't much of a breeze so the clouds weren't moving much and they just lay there enjoying each other's company and the beauty of their surroundings. After a few minutes Hook began to feel a slight tickle in his nose. He sniffed hoping that would take care of it. When that didn't work, he let go of Emma's hand, which he had been caressing, and gave his nose a good rub.

 

Emma raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. After the second time he pulled his hand away to rub at his nose she spoke up. "You ok?"

 

Hook cursed inwardly. She would have been less likely to notice if he'd had his other hand to use. "I'm fine love. Just a momentary irritation. I'm sure it will soon pass."

 

"Ok, if you say so. Hey look, there's a cloud that looks just like you!"

 

"Really? Where?" Hook looked all around the sky but he couldn't see any clouds that resembled him.

 

Emma laughed. "Got you!"

 

"Playing a trick on me are you? You'll not get away with that!" Hook exclaimed as he rolled on top of her.

 

Emma grinned. "And just exactly how do you plan to punish me?"

 

Hook covered her mouth with his, kissing her passionately. Emma closed her eyes and returned the kiss. Just as he started to deepen the kiss further he felt the tickle in his nose return. And it wasn't just a tickle this time, he felt a very strong need to sneeze. Not wanting to ruin the moment he pulled away, raised himself up on his knees, and rubbed desperately at his nose trying to make the sneeze back off.

 

Feeling Hook's lips leave hers she moaned, "Killian..." She only ever called him by his first name when she was really worried about him or in moments of passion or affection. She expected him to start kissing her somewhere else, but when that didn't happen she opened her eyes and saw him rubbing his nose vigorously in what she was sure was the attempt to stave off a sneeze. "If you have to sneeze, just sneeze and get it over with."

 

Her words distracted him and losing his concentration, the need to sneeze completely overwhelmed him. He turned quickly to the side sneezing forcefully into the crook of his arm. He paused, then his breathe hitched a few times before letting loose another harsh sounding sneeze.

 

"Bless you!" exclaimed Emma surprised at the force with which he shook against her as he sneezed.

 

He sniffled and looked down at Emma apologetically. "I'm sorry love. I was trying not to ruin the moment."

 

"It's ok," said Emma. "Just sneeze if you have to. You look ridiculous trying to hold them back which spoils the effect of your devilishly handsome face."

 

"Really?" Hook feigned alarm. "Well we can't have that."

 

"Nope, absolutely not," Emma agreed. She started to pull Hook down towards her to kiss him again when she saw a panicked look come over his face and he started sniffling trying not to sneeze again. "Oh just let it out," she reminded him.

 

"As you wish..." Hook trailed off and then muffled three rapid-fire sneezes against the back of his wrist. Emma burst out laughing uncontrollably. Scowling, Hook got up and walked away a few feet. "I'm so glad you derive that much amusement from my predicament."

 

After Emma managed to compose herself enough to stop laughing, she sat up and called after him. "Please, come on back. I wasn't laughing because you sneezed. It was because of what you said."

 

Raising an eyebrow Hook returned and sat down next to Emma. "What was so funny about what I said? I simply said 'As you wish'."

 

Emma tried to suppress another fit of laughter and failed. When she managed to stop and catch her breath she saw Hook looking at her expectantly. "If you keep saying that, I might as well call you The Dread Pirate Roberts."

 

"What? Why would you call me that?" Hook asked in bewilderment. "Wait, is this another of your movie references?"

 

Emma nodded. "I'll have to add The Princess Bride to the list of movies you need to see."

 

Hook sighed. "It is most frustrating that so much of modern humor and expressions are rooted in these movies and TV shows. It could take a lifetime to familiarize myself with all of it."

 

"Try not to worry about it," said Emma. "Even people born in this era aren't familiar with all of it. There's simply too much material."

 

"I wouldn't need to worry about it if these things didn't keep coming up in conversation," Hook replied.

 

"I'm sorry. I'll try my best not to do it so much." Emma said as she leaned in and kissed him.

 

Hook kissed her back. "You are forgiven." Emma rested her head on his shoulder and he gently ran his fingers through her hair. With almost no warning the tickle in his nose flared up again. His breath hitched once, twice, then he sneezed another triple before he had time to cover up, his body rocking forward with the force of each one. Now he could feel his nose starting to run. He retrieved a handkerchief from an inner pocket in his coat and blew his nose as discreetly as he could. "My apologies. I really don't know what's wrong with me today." Emma reached out and pressed the back of her hand against his forehead and then his neck. "What are you doing?"

 

"I'm checking to see if you have a fever," she answered.

 

"I assure you I am perfectly alright," Hook insisted.

 

"Well you're not feverish, but if you were perfectly alright, you wouldn't be sneezing your head off." As if reacting to her words, Hook gasped and launched into another fit, smothering four massive sneezes into his handkerchief. He paused briefly before letting out three more sneezes that seemed smaller and yet more forceful at the same time than the previous set. "Jeez!" Emma exclaimed. Hook blew his nose vigorously and Emma winced at the sound it made. When he straightened up and pulled the handkerchief away from his face she could see that his nose was developing a pink tinge around his nostrils and his eyes were red and watery.

 

Hook couldn't understand what was happening to him. This was the strangest illness he'd ever encountered. He had no fever, chills, headache, cough, or sore throat. There was just this incessant itch in his nose that kept making him sneeze and now the itch seemed to be spreading to his eyes. He raised his hand to his eyes to rub at them, but Emma grabbed his hand before he could.

 

"Don't rub your eyes. It'll make it worse," Emma explained.

 

"It will? Do you know what's wrong with me?" Hook asked, his voice starting to sound congested.

 

"I think you might be having an allergy attack." When Hook just stared at her blankly she tried to explain the best she could. "It's when your body has a bad reaction to a particular substance. Sometimes it's called hay fever if the reaction is caused by plants."

 

"The same affliction that dwarf Sneezy suffers from?" Hook asked.

 

"Yeah, though I've never seen him sneeze this much."

 

Hook frowned. If he was sneezier than Sneezy, this did not bode well for him. "This is not good at all."

 

"Hey it's ok," Emma tried to reassure him. "If you've developed allergies, we'll get you some medicine to help with the symptoms."

 

"You don't understand. A pirate can't afford to show weakness. A vulnerable pirate is a dead pirate."

 

Emma rubbed his back. "You don't have to be a pirate anymore. There was a time when you weren't one."

 

"I know. I've just spent so long being a pirate that I've forgotten how to be anything else. I know I can't be a pirate anymore if I want a life with you, but I just don't know what I can do in this small town. Most of the people here had their occupations assigned to them by the curse."

 

Emma thought for a moment. "Wasn't part of your duty in the Royal Navy to serve and protect?"

 

"Yes, what of it?" Hook asked.

 

"I was thinking that maybe you should come work with me and my father in the Sheriff's office," Emma suggested.

 

"And join the family business eh? I'm sure your father would love that."

 

Emma grinned. "I think you're starting to grow on him. He did after all get to see firsthand how devoted you are to me. Just give it some thought."

 

Hook nodded and rubbed his nose feeling the tickle return again. He quickly brought his handkerchief up to his nose just in time to catch a triplet of sneezes. They weren't as powerful as his earlier sneezes and as such did little to relieve the tickle in his nose. He sniffed and rubbed at his nose again. "This is truly maddening."

 

Emma nodded sympathetically. "We'd better get you home and get you some medicine."

 

"But what about that swim you promised me?" Hook protested.

 

"Really? That's all you can think about right now?" Hook just looked at her with a pitiful expression on his face before sneezing again. "On the one hand dunking your head in the water might help you feel a bit better, but I think it's best that we leave. I'm guessing it's the wildflowers here causing this since you were fine before we got here."

 

"So you think I'll start to improve once we leave this place?"

 

"I think so," said Emma, "if I'm right that is. Don't expect to feel better right away though. It might take awhile and I still think we should get some medicine into you. We'll stop off at the drug store on the way home."

 

"Remind me to thank Granny so much for suggesting this location," said Hook bitterly.

 

"Oh come on. How could she have known this would happen?"

 

Hook sighed. "You're right. I just feel wretched and I wish this infernal sneezing would cease."

 

They got up and made their way out of the woods. Since Emma knew exactly where they were going it took them less time to get back to the car than it took to get to the clearing, even with Hook having to frequently stop to sneeze. Hook had never been so happy to see a car in his life. He still wasn't really used to riding in them, but all the sneezing was starting to make him feel light-headed and he was grateful to not have to walk back to town. They got in the car and Emma started the engine and turned on the air conditioning hoping it would help alleviate his symptoms somewhat.

 

If anything, Hook's condition deteriorated once he was in the car. He felt a massive tickle quickly descend upon his nose as if it were being tickled on the inside by hundreds of tiny feathers. He sneezed one body wrenching sneeze after another into his handkerchief which by now was so soiled that it was barely useable. He lost count after ten sneezes and it was a few minutes before the fit finally worked itself out. He was left coughing and gasping for breath with a sharp pain in his ribs which were prone to ache easily since his previous injury.

 

"Wow!" exclaimed Emma. "Are you ok?"

 

"Not really... but I'll live. I just... need to... catch my breath."

 

"Ok well I'll get you to the drug store as fast as I can." Emma pulled out onto the road driving a bit faster than was safe and watched Hook out of the corner of her eye. She was starting to worry that this was turning into an asthma attack, but after a couple of minutes his breathing seemed to normalize.

 

"Oh not again..." Hook moaned as the need to sneeze crept up on him once more. He let out four rapid-fire sneezes into his now completely soaked handkerchief. He sniffed thickly. He really needed to blow his nose and he didn't have a spare handkerchief. "Would you happen to have a handkerchief that I can use? Mine has become rather useless and I'm afraid I don't have a spare on me. I normally only use it to wipe the sweat from my brow."

 

Emma shook her head. "Sorry, I don't use them. There's some napkins in the glove compartment though."

 

Hook retrieved the napkins from the glove compartment and made a face. "You really expect me to use these on my nose?"

 

"I know they're not very nice, but it's either that or blow your nose on your shirt. I'll get you some tissues when we get to the drug store." She saw Hook looking at her with that confused expression again. "Tissues, they're a bit like napkins, but they are softer and they're what most people use to sneeze and blow their noses into these days. You just throw them away after you've used them." Hook nodded and reluctantly blew his nose into the napkins until he could breathe through his nose again somewhat. He looked around the car unsure where to put the soiled napkins. "Just throw them on the floor," said Emma. "I'll clean it up later."

 

Hook continued to sneeze in fits of three to five the whole way to the drug store and he quickly exhausted Emma's supply of napkins. They pulled into the drug store parking lot and Emma got out of the car. "I'll be right back," she said. "You just stay here and rest."

 

"Do hurry," Hook paused to let out a particularly violent sneeze. "I'm not sure how much more of this I can take." He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew Emma was shaking him awake. She opened up a small bottle and shook out two pills and handed them to him along with a bottle of water.

 

"Swallow those down whole with the water," Emma instructed. After Hook swallowed the pills she pulled a tiny bottle out of the shopping bag. "This is for your eyes. I'm going to put a drop in each eye," she explained. "Tilt your head back." Hook did as he was told and Emma put the drops in his eyes.

 

Hook winced as the drops stung at first, but after a few seconds he felt soothing relief as the itching in his eyes started to fade. Unfortunately the itch in his nose did not. His breath started hitching as he geared up for another fit and Emma ripped open the tissue box, pulled one out and thrust it into his hand. Hook took the tissue gratefully and brought it to his nose just in time to catch a quartet of sneezes. When he opened his eyes he saw that the tissue was mostly soaked through and no good for further use. "These things are so flimsy. Is this really what most people use these days?"

 

"Yes," said Emma. "People like the convenience of just throwing them away and not having to wash handkerchiefs. Plus it's considered more hygienic to throw your germs away, assuming you actually have a proper trash can to throw the tissues in." Emma made a mental note to toss out all the used napkins and tissues that she was sure would accumulate as soon as she got Hook back to Granny's and got him settled in. "Admittedly they aren't the most durable of products and sometimes you need to layer two of them together, or in your case maybe three." She pulled a few more tissues from the box and laid them out on top of each other to show Hook what she meant and handed them to him along with the box.

 

Hook gave his nose a good blow and saw that the tissues did indeed hold up better if you stacked a few of them together, but he wasn't sure if he'd ever prefer them over a handkerchief. "Emma, I really don't feel well at all. Those eye drops seemed to help but the pills aren't working."

 

Emma chuckled. "They aren't magic pills. They don't work instantly. It could take up to an hour for them to work, though if you're lucky they will kick in a bit sooner than that."

 

Hook gave her a look of horror. "I have to suffer through this hell for another hour? I've already sneezed more in the past hour than I have in my entire life!"

 

"I know it sucks, but you'll start to feel better before you know it," Emma reassured him.

 

"Perhaps I could try putting those drops in my nose as well?" Hook asked hopefully.

 

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," said Emma hesitantly. "Those drops are meant for your eyes, not your nose. I'm not sure what would happen. I wouldn't try it without asking a doctor first. Just try to go back to sleep if you can."

 

"I'll try," said Hook doubtfully, "but it's beyond me how I managed to fall asleep the first time."

 

Hook seemed to be sneezing a bit less frequently on the ride to Granny's, and when he did sneeze they lacked the force behind them that most of his earlier sneezes had had. Emma wasn't sure if it was because the medication was starting to work or if it was because his body was just so completely worn out. He did look awful though. His nose was all red and swollen and his eyes, though less red than they had been, were still a bit puffy. He finally fell asleep shortly before they arrived at Granny's snoring a bit from the congestion. Emma hated to wake him, but she had to get him up to his room and into bed. She shook him gently trying to get him to wake up. Hook just moaned and refused to open his eyes. "Come on, get up, we're here. You can go back to sleep as soon as we get you up to your room." Hook still refused to open his eyes. Emma sighed. Sometimes there was only one way to motivate him. "If you get up now I promise we'll go for that swim once you're feeling better and I'll..." she whispered something naughty in his ear.

 

Hook's eyes shot open in surprise. "Alright, I'm up I'm up."

 

Emma glanced down at Hook's lap and smirked. "Yes you certainly are." That was probably the first time she'd ever seen him blush.

 

It took Hook a few tries to get out of the car. "I feel so strange. Almost like I'm drunk and yet it's different than being drunk. Is this because of the allergies?"

 

Emma chuckled. "No it's from the allergy meds. A lot of them have side effects and I bought you the strongest stuff I could find in the store. I had no idea you'd be such a drug lightweight." Hook started to walk toward the door to Granny's, but he was rather unsteady on his feet and he nearly lost his balance when he was overcome by an intense fit of four sneezes. Emma put her arm around his waist. "Lean on me ok? The last thing you need right now is to fall over and injure yourself. She helped him up to his room having to pause once on the stairs as he succumbed to yet another powerful trio of sneezes. She couldn't believe how intense some of his sneezing fits were. It was like some of them were so strong that he had to sneeze with his whole body to rid the irritation from his nose. When they got to his room, Hook collapsed in the armchair and closed his eyes. "Hey don't go to sleep just yet."

 

Hook groaned. "What now? More medicine that doesn't help?"

 

"I think the meds are starting to work," said Emma. "You aren't sneezing as frequently as you were before."

 

"I think I'm just too bloody exhausted to keep doing it. Let me go back to sleep." Hook snapped practically whining.

 

Emma shook her head. It seemed like all men, even pirates, acted like babies when they didn't feel well. "Not just yet. I know you're too worn out to take a shower, but you should at least change your clothes."

 

"What for?"

 

"You could have pollen from the wild flowers stuck on your clothes. If you are allergic to them, then having the pollen all over you would cause your symptoms to last longer," she explained as she started gathering the pajamas she had purchased for him from the dresser.

 

Hook raised an eyebrow. "You seem to know a lot about this condition for someone who has no medical training."

 

"I read up on it quite a bit when Neal went through something similar," Emma explained. "We moved around a lot and there was something in the air in this one city that really set him off. We never did figure out exactly what it was, but he was pretty miserable on high pollen days, though he didn't have it nearly as bad as you."

 

Hook nodded and closed his eyes. It was getting so hard to stay awake. He could feel Emma removing his boots and socks. He jumped when she started lightly tickling the bottom of his feet.

 

"Sorry," Emma apologized. "I'm just trying to keep you awake long enough to get you changed and into bed." She helped Hook stand up and change into the pajamas.

 

The pajamas consisted of dark blue lounge pants and a grey t-shirt. The clothes were soft and made of cotton and he had to admit they were more comfortable than the clothes he usually wore. They were even more comfortable than that ridiculous gown they'd made him wear at the hospital, though he'd have to ask Emma about getting a robe to go with them. After he finished changing he stumbled over to the bed and climbed in curling up on his side in a practically fetal position.

 

Emma covered him with a blanket and set the bottles of pills, eye drops, and water on the night stand along with the half used up box of tissues. "The directions for taking the meds are right on the bottles and there's more tissues in the shopping bag for when you run out. Is there anything else you need before I go?"

 

"You're not staying?" Hook asked sounding surprised and disappointed. He had hoped that Emma would stay and take a nap with him.

 

"No, I've probably got pollen all over me too and I should go home and shower and change so I don't risk making you worse," she answered. "I also need to go in to work and catch up on some paperwork which I was planning to do anyway after our outing."

 

Hook nodded. "In that case maybe some warm compresses for my head and ribs? They're really sore from all the sneezing."

 

"Why didn't you say anything earlier? I would have gotten you some pain meds while I was at the store."

 

Hook shrugged. "I was a bit preoccupied at the time."

 

Emma went and got some washcloths from the bathroom and ran them under hot water. She laid one across Hook's forehead and the other under his shirt across his previously injured ribs. She knew the washcloths wouldn't stay warm for very long, but hopefully they would help ease his pain somewhat. "I'll bring you some pain meds when I come back later. Call me if you need me." She bent down and kissed his cheek.

 

Hook smiled. "Thank you for taking care of me Emma. You make for a wonderful nurse."

 

Emma just shrugged and smiled back. "You'd do the same for me."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma returns to check on Hook and bring him some dinner, but unfortunately his condition continues to deteriorate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Adult Themes
> 
> Spoilers: Spoilers for up to the Season 3 finale.
> 
> Author's Notes: This story was originally written before Season 4 aired and was supposed to take place shortly after the end of Season 3. Then it turned out that Season 4 started immediately after Season 3 ended, so just because of how the story was written and how Season 4 turned out, I want to say that it should actually take place during Season 4 between episodes 3 and 4. Because of these circumstances though, there won't be any mention made of any events that happen during Season 4 except for a few small details that are pure coincidence and there is some stuff that contradicts events some stuff from Season 4 a bit as well.

When Hook woke up he saw from the clock on the wall that nearly three hours had passed and it was now evening. His mouth was very dry from breathing through it while he slept and he took a long drink from the water bottle Emma had left him. He tried to breathe through his nose and found that it was completely blocked, but he thanked the heavens that at least for the moment it didn't tickle or itch. He grabbed a few tissues from the box and blew his nose repeatedly until he could get nothing more to come out. He still felt congested, but at least now he could breathe through his nose somewhat. His eyes were still a bit irritated and watery. He wasn't sure when or if he should take more medicine and picked up the bottles of pills and eye drops to examine them. The print was quite small and the words looked fuzzy to him. He set the bottles down and wiped some of the moisture from his eyes before picking them up and examining them again. He still couldn't read the print even when squinting and he wished he had a magnifying glass. He'd owned a rather fine one, but unfortunately it, along with many other items, was left behind on the Jolly Roger when he'd traded it.

 

He was debating whether or not he should call Emma and ask her about the medicine when the cell phone she had obtained for him started to ring. He shook his head in annoyance at the Pirates of the Caribbean ringtone Emma had put on the phone after they had watched the movies together. One of these days he would have to figure out how to change it. He had left the phone in the pocket of his coat which was lying on the armchair along with the rest of his clothes. He pulled himself out of bed and stumbled to the armchair fishing the phone out of his coat pocket. After fiddling with the device he managed to answer it just before it went to voicemail. "Swan?" He cringed at how congested his voice sounded.

 

"Hey I didn't wake you did I?" Emma asked unsure if he sounded groggy, congested, or both.

 

"No, love. I just woke up a few minutes ago," he answered.

 

"Are you feeling any better?"

 

Hook took a moment to assess his condition before responding. "There has been some improvement. I've not sneezed at all since waking, but as I'm sure you can tell, I'm still horribly congested."

 

"Yeah, you sound awful," said Emma. "What about the headache and pain in your ribs?"

 

"The pain has lessened a little since resting but not entirely gone," he answered.

 

"Ok, I'll definitely get you some pain meds from the drug store before I come over. You can probably use the eye drops again if you need them, but I'm not sure how long you need to wait between doses of the allergy pills. What does it say on the bottle?"

 

"Um, I'm not sure," said Hook.

 

"What do you mean?" said Emma. "Just read the instructions on the bottle."

 

"I can't read it," Hook answered embarrassed to admit it.

 

"What are you talking about?" Emma replied in an exasperated tone. "I know you know how to read."

 

"Of course I can read! I just can't read the bottle. The print is too bloody small!" Hook all but shouted into the phone.

 

Emma chuckled. "It sounds like someone needs reading glasses."

 

Hook scowled. "I do not need glasses. No one could read print this small without a magnifying glass."

 

"I hate to break it to you, but I could read it just fine," said Emma. "Unfortunately I just can't remember what it said. When you're feeling better I'll take you to get an eye exam."

 

"No you won't, because there's nothing wrong with my eyes beyond being irritated and watery from the allergy," Hook insisted.

 

Emma sighed. "I'm not going to argue with you about this right now. I'll be there as soon as I can. In the meantime try to take a hot shower. The steam should help with the congestion."

 

Hook opened his mouth to reply, but then that dreaded itch started to form in his nose. He groaned as the itch quickly grew. His breath hitched a couple of times as the need to sneeze grew and then at the last second the itch disappeared altogether.

 

"Are you ok?" Emma asked.

 

"I had to sneeze but it went away," Hook explained.

 

"Yeah, that can be annoying. I'll see you soon," she said before hanging up.

 

Hook stared at the phone for a couple of seconds and then put it down on the nightstand. The tickle in his nose came back and he braced himself for a sneezing fit, but the tickle died down again. It didn't go away completely but lay hovering just below the level needed to make him sneeze. He sniffed and rubbed his nose in annoyance but that did nothing to either coax the sneeze out or make the tickle go away. He wasn't sure, but he thought that this might actually be worse than sneezing. He remembered what Emma had said about pollen on his clothes possibly making him worse. He picked up his coat, buried his face in it and took a deep breath through his nose. He smiled as he smelled the faint scent of Emma still clinging to the leather. Then sure enough the tickle in his nose flared up stronger. He breathed in sharply before exploding in a forceful triple of sneezes. He made the mistake of not lowering the coat from his face when he breathed in again and this resulted in another harsh triple sneezing fit. He quickly dropped the coat on the chair before he sneezed again. He'd definitely need to get it and the rest of his clothes cleaned.

 

He was glad to be rid of the tickle in his nose, but as his head and ribs started to throb painfully, he wasn't entirely sure it was worth it. He retrieved his rum flask from the pile of clothes and took a long swig from it to dull the pain. He knew that a hot shower would probably also help ease his pain along with his congestion so he decided to do as Emma suggested. He entered the bathroom, got undressed, removed his hook, and climbed into the shower. He sighed with pleasure as the warm water washed over him and soothed his aches and pains. He felt too exhausted to keep standing there, so he sank down to sit in the tub with his legs stretched out in front of him. After a few minutes he felt the congestion in his head start to break up a bit, and he coughed a few times as it ran down this throat. He still couldn't breathe through his nose fully, but it was an improvement. He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that, but it seemed like all too soon he heard Emma calling him. If he wasn't in such a wretched state he probably would have called out to her to join him, but as much as he relished the thought, he knew he wasn't up for that sort of thing. He shut off the water and replied that he'd be right out. He climbed out of the shower, dried himself off, and put his pajamas and hook back on.

 

"Sorry I took so long," Emma apologized as Hook entered the bedroom. "I had to drop Henry off at Regina's and then I stopped to get us some dinner. Henry wanted to come and see you, but I told him that you needed your rest."

 

"Now now, tell the truth love. You really just wanted me all to yourself," Hook said with a devilish grin.

 

"Yeah, because there's nothing sexier than a stuffed up sniffling pirate," she retorted sarcastically.

 

Hook just sighed. He was too tired to think of a clever response to that and he knew he was looking far from his best right now. He slumped down on the couch and Emma joined him setting down the bag of food and drug store grocery bag on the coffee table. "What is it?" he asked after she started staring at him quizzically.

 

"Really?" she said. "You feel like crap and you just got out of the shower, but you felt it necessary to reapply eyeliner before coming out to see me?"

 

"I don't use eyeliner."

 

"No of course not, you were just born with black lines around your eyelids," Emma replied taking on a sarcastic tone again.

 

"I don't," Hook insisted. "At least not in the way you mean. It's tattooed on."

 

"Seriously? Didn't that um hurt? A lot?"

 

"Excruciatingly so. It made my other tattoos feel like a mere tickle," he replied.

 

"Well that explains why it always looks flawless, even after you almost drowned," Emma commented.

 

Hook smirked. "I suppose I should be flattered that you pay such close attention to my eyes."

 

Emma blushed and to change the subject she retrieved a bottle of Tylenol from the shopping bag along with a water bottle and handed them to Hook. "Here's the pain medication I bought you."  


"Thank you," said Hook. "How many pills do I take?"

 

"I don't know. What does the bottle say?" she said with a smirk.

 

Hook squinted at the bottle, but he couldn't make out the small print on this bottle any better than he had on the others. "Swan I'm tired and in pain. Please just read it for me."

 

"Sure, just admit that you need an eye exam. Or you could try out the gift I bought you." She pulled a pair of round black reading glasses out of the shopping bag. "I don't know if the lens strength will be enough for you, but it should help a little. After you get an eye exam you can get a pair with a more exact prescription."

 

Hook made a face. "I don't want to. I'll look ridiculous."

 

Emma rolled her eyes. "No you won't, and even if you did, so what? You just have to put them on for a minute to read the bottle and you can take them right back off again. I'm not trying to be mean or unreasonable here. Don't you want to be able to read small print without asking someone for help?"

 

"Fine fine," Hook grumbled and took the glasses from her. He stared at them for a few seconds before putting them on. He looked at the bottle again and was genuinely surprised to find that he could read it now. The letters were still a bit fuzzy but at least he could make them out.

 

"Well?" said Emma expectantly. Hook just scowled at her and retrieved a couple of pills from the bottle, swallowing them down with water. Emma grinned in satisfaction. "I knew they would help. Keep in mind that it will take awhile for those pills to get into your system and start working just like with the allergy meds."

 

Hook got up and looked at himself in the dresser mirror. "I knew it, I look ridiculous," he stated before sitting down on the couch again.

 

"No you don't." Emma wanted to say that all he needed now was a wand and a scar on his forehead and then he'd be able to do magic too, but she managed to restrain herself. "You actually look kind of hot," she said surprised to find that she actually meant it.

 

"Really?" Hook asked not really believing her.

 

"Yes, but if you don't like those glasses you can pick out a pair you like better after your eye exam," said Emma. "At least you only need them for reading. I need them all the time because I'm nearsighted."

 

Hook looked at her with a puzzled expression on his face. "What are you talking about? I've never seen you wearing glasses." Emma pulled out her phone and brought up an old picture of her and Neal together and showed it to him. Sure enough, she was wearing glasses in that picture. "I still don't understand. Do you now possess an invisible enchanted pair of glasses?"

 

Emma laughed. "Not exactly. They're called contact lenses. They are thin flexible lenses that you stick directly on your eyes."

 

Hook shuddered. "You stick the lenses in your eyes? Doesn't that hurt?"

 

Emma shook her head. "This from a man who had eyeliner permanently tattooed on? No, compared to that it doesn't hurt in the least, though some people find them uncomfortable. Anyway I hated how I looked glasses. I was so ugly so when I could afford to I finally got contacts."

 

Hook looked at the picture again. "I don't think you looked ugly. You looked just as beautiful as you do now, just different."

 

Emma smiled. "If you can say that, then believe me when I tell you that you don't look ridiculous."

 

Hook leaned in and kissed her, removing his glasses first and setting them on the table worried that they'd get in the way somehow. Though still partially congested he could smell the sweet fragrance coming off of her hair, the same smell that was on his coat, but stronger. "Mmm you smell good," he murmured.

 

Emma chuckled. "Yeah that tends to happen after I shower."

 

Hook started to kiss her again, but then a sharp tickle formed in his nose. He barely had time to break away from the kiss and ended up muffling five rapid-fire sneezes into her shoulder. He looked up at her with watery eyes and a horrified expression on his face. "I am so sorry. It just came on so suddenly."

 

Emma couldn't help but feel some mild disgust, but at least the sneezes had been dry so there was no wet spot on her shoulder. "It's ok. I know you didn't do it on purpose." She pulled out the last item in the shopping bag, a tissue box, opened it, and set it on the table in front of Hook.

 

Hook smiled. He hadn't used up the ones she'd purchased for him before, but given his earlier state, he could see why she'd think he'd need them and he was grateful for that and everything else she was doing for him. He was even grateful for the infernal reading glasses which he still didn't want to admit he needed. He pulled a few tissues from the box and tried to blow his nose but ended up sneezing a harsh double into them instead before successfully blowing his nose.

 

Emma frowned. "Hmm. Looks like the allergy meds are wearing off. You'd better take some more before you get any worse." She got up and retrieved the bottle from the nightstand and read the instructions. According to the bottle he should wait another hour before taking more, but she didn't want to risk him deteriorating into the state he was in before and as it was he would probably get worse before the pills kicked in fully anyway. She handed him two pills and he swallowed them down with more water. "I almost forgot about our dinner. We should eat it before it gets cold." She pulled out two containers of chicken soup and two styrofoam mugs of peppermint tea from the bag.

 

Hook raised an eyebrow. "Am I not allowed solid food in my condition?"

 

Emma chuckled. "No, it's just that soup and tea are good for helping with the congestion. Anyway it's not just broth, there's chicken and noodles and veggies in it."

 

They snuggled on the couch and ate in silence save for Hook's periodic sneezing fits. The soup and the tea definitely helped to clear up his congestion and he could almost breathe normally, except that his nose seemed even more sensitive now and it was as if the very act of breathing was enough to set him off. "How long do I have to be away from that blasted meadow before I'm better?" Hook asked after an impressive fit of eight sneezes.

 

"Um I'm not sure," Emma said uncertainly. "It's a pretty severe reaction you're having. Plus it's possible that I was wrong about the cause. If you're not any better by morning I'll take you to see a doctor."

 

Hook nodded before doubling over in another sneezing fit. His ribs were now throbbing badly. He got up and retrieved his flask from the chair and took a long sip from it.

 

"What are you doing?" Emma asked. She couldn't put her finger on why, but the sight of him drinking right now really disturbed her. She saw him drink from his flask so often that it was practically ubiquitous and didn't usually think anything of it. In anyone else such behavior would be considered a sign of alcoholism, but he seemed to be able to handle small amounts of rum while staying completely sober. In fact the only time she'd ever seen him really drunk was when she encountered his past self when they went back in time and that had been partly her doing anyway. Still she'd have to remember to talk to him about this if he ever learned to drive.

 

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Hook replied, and then added, "It's medicinal. I'm in pain and your modern pills are taking too bloody long."

 

Then it hit her. She'd completely forgotten about how alcohol and allergy meds should not be mixed. She cursed inwardly. "Um how much rum have you had to drink today?"

 

"Not much," Hook answered. "I had a few small sips while waiting for you at the edge of the woods, then some more before I showered, which was also medicinal, and the drink I just had. Why do you ask?"

 

This time Emma cursed out loud. "Shit shit shit. Ok Killian please don't be mad at me, but I forgot to warn you that you can't mix alcohol with allergy pills. It's probably why the first dose hit you so hard and now that you've had more to drink both before and after your second dose I'm not sure how badly it will affect you."

 

"Bloody hell Swan!" Hook exclaimed and sat down hard on the couch. "Am I going to die?"

 

"I don't think so. I'm hoping it just knocks you out again and nothing worse happens," said Emma. "No more rum though, and I'm definitely spending the night to make sure you're ok."

 

Hook sighed with relief. "You had me worried for a moment there. It wouldn't be the first time I've passed out from drinking, though usually it takes a great deal more of it to have that effect. Truth be told I wouldn't mind passing out again at this point."

 

"Yeah I don't blame you," said Emma. "Just let me know if you start to have trouble breathing or if any other strange symptoms develop so I can get you to the hospital. I can't lose you, not after what happened with Neal." She bit her lip determined not to let herself cry.

 

Seeing the stricken look of pain on her face Hook moved closer to her on the couch and wrapped his arms around her. He'd cared for Baelfire as well and the memory of his death was still a painful wound for him too. "Emma darling, you are not going to lose me. I promise you I am not going anywhere."

 

Emma leaned into his embrace. She knew he couldn't really make promises like that especially with the kind of lives they lived, but it felt good to hear him say it all the same. "I wish I could use magic to help you feel better. Regina didn't exactly teach me any healing magic though and I don't think she'd be all that willing to do so now all things considered."

 

"Not likely," Hook agreed and then turned away just in time to muffle a fit of five sneezes into the crook of his arm. He could feel the congestion starting to creep back into his head undoing all the benefit that the soup and tea had provided. "Don't worry, I don't need magic to feel better. I just need time and you at my side." Emma reached up to run her fingers through his hair and then pulled him in to kiss him. Unfortunately he was forced to pull away as a fierce tickled seized his nose and he succumbed to a fit almost as long and violent as the one he'd had when he first got into the car. Each sneeze bent him double causing pain to shoot through his ribs and did little to alleviate the tickle. Emma just sat there helplessly with a look of grave concern on her face and kept passing him tissues and rubbing his back until the fit subsided. When the sneezing had finally stopped he did his best to try to blow his nose, but it was difficult as he kept coughing and wheezing and breathing was rather painful. He wrapped his arms around his ribs and began rocking back and forth slightly.

 

Emma was starting to get really worried. She hoped for his sake that the medicine would kick in soon and he could spend the rest of the night passed out and hopefully be better by morning. She noticed that he'd broken out in a sweat and that he was shaking. "Your ribs are really killing you aren't they?"

 

Hook nodded. "Hurts to breathe," he gasped out.

 

Emma realized that what he could really use right now was a heating pad and could kick herself for not thinking of it when she'd gone back to the drug store, but she didn't realize how ineffective the Tylenol would be. Then again it would be like expecting Tylenol to prevent you from feeling it if someone punched you in the face. She was afraid to leave him to go back to the drug store, but maybe Ruby or Granny would have one she could borrow. "I'm just going to run downstairs real quick to see if I can find something to help with the pain. I promise I won't be gone long."

 

Hook frowned. He didn't want to be left alone again, but if Emma could really find something that would help ease his pain, it would be worth it. As soon as she left he managed to lift himself off of the couch and stumbled over to the bed and lay down on it. He was starting to feel vaguely drunk and groggy like he had after the first time he'd taken the allergy pills and took it as a hopeful sign that they would start to help him feel better soon even if feeling better only meant that he'd be unconscious so he couldn't feel anything. It was a bit harder to breathe lying down, but he didn't have the strength to sit up again. Emma returned about ten minutes later carrying a large thick piece of light blue cloth with an electrical cord hanging off of it and in the middle of the cord was a device that looked similar to the one that operated the television.

 

"I managed to find you a heating pad. It's better than a warm compress since it will stay warm for as long as it's plugged in," Emma explained. "I borrowed it from Ruby."

 

"Did she ask why you needed it?" Hook asked.

 

It took Emma a moment to figure out what he'd said. On top of the congestion that had returned to his voice, his speech was also a bit slurred. She figured it must be from the combination of the rum and allergy pills. "Um I told her I needed it for 'women's issues'," Emma admitted awkwardly.

 

Hook made a face. He wasn't sure whether to be disgusted or amused and he was probably equal parts of both, but he was grateful that she'd kept quiet about his condition. "Thank you for doing this and for your discretion."

 

"I had to do something. It kills me to see you like this." She noted that while his coughing seemed to have subsided while she was gone, he was still wheezing a bit. She plugged the heating pad in the outlet next to the bed and while it was warming up she retrieved a couple of extra pillows from the closet and helped Hook to sit up and propped up the pillows behind him.

 

Hook was amazed that she seemed to know just what he needed without him having to say anything. Breathing was definitely less painful now that he wasn't lying flat. She placed the heating pad across his ribs and showed him how to adjust the heat settings. He sighed with relief as the heat began to lessen the pain. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

 

Emma smiled and kissed him on the forehead but she was frowning on the inside. She felt like this whole thing was her fault, that if it wasn't for her, he wouldn't be in this state. She wasn't sure what was making him sick. If it really was the wildflowers like she had first guessed, he should be getting better by now, not getting worse. There was the possibility that he suddenly developed an allergy to tree pollen and it was just coincidence that his symptoms began in the clearing, in which case there wasn't really anywhere he could completely escape it, though he still should have improved somewhat after being inside for awhile. Logically she knew she couldn't blame herself, that she had no idea what was going to happen, and that the same thing might have happened even if she hadn't seen him at all today, but she still felt guilty. She was half tempted to drag him to the hospital right now. The wheezing wasn't that bad and she was pretty sure it was due to the pain in his ribs rather than anything actually being wrong with his lungs, but she was still worried. She'd definitely take him in though if his condition got any worse. "Try to get some sleep. I'll be on the couch if you need me."

 

"You don't need to spend the night on the couch on my account because I'm ill. In fact it would be a comfort to me to have you lying next to me," said Hook.

 

Emma chuckled. "I wasn't planning on spending the night on the couch. It's still early though and I thought I'd read for awhile. I'll join you when I'm ready to go to sleep." Hook nodded and yawned. He closed his eyes, unable to keep them open any longer thanks to the mix of rum and medication, and quickly drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hook wakes up in the middle of the night suffering from acute respiratory distress and has to be rushed to the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Adult Themes
> 
> Spoilers: Spoilers for up to the Season 3 finale.
> 
> Author's Notes: This story was originally written before Season 4 aired and was supposed to take place shortly after the end of Season 3. Then it turned out that Season 4 started immediately after Season 3 ended, so just because of how the story was written and how Season 4 turned out, I want to say that it should actually take place during Season 4 between episodes 3 and 4. Because of these circumstances though, there won't be any mention made of any events that happen during Season 4 except for a few small details that are pure coincidence and there is some stuff that contradicts events some stuff from Season 4 a bit as well.

Emma awoke when she felt the bed jerking back and forth. At first she thought it was an earthquake, but she soon registered the sound of Hook sneezing. In fact he seemed to be alternating between sneezing and coughing. He'd let out three or four violent sneezes and then he'd cough these deep painful sounding bronchial coughs for several seconds and then go back to sneezing. She was starting to wonder if she'd been wrong about the allergies, and if it weren't for the fact that his eyes itched and the lack of a fever she'd think it was a sudden onset respiratory infection. She turned on the light and saw from the clock on the wall that it was after three in the morning. She looked over at Hook and let out a small gasp. He really looked awful. She wasn't sure how long he'd been at it, but his eyes were bloodshot and streaming two small rivers of tears down his cheeks. His nose appeared to be bright red and quite swollen what little she could see of it behind the large wad of tissues he was unsuccessfully trying to muffle his sneezes and coughs into. She got up and replaced the sodden pile of tissues in his hand with several fresh ones. He gave her a quick look of gratitude before he started sneezing again. "Have you taken any more medicine?"

 

Hook shook his head. "Woke up like this. Couldn't..." he broke off into another coughing fit. Emma rubbed his back until it subsided. Thankfully the sneezing didn't start up again right away and he took the opportunity to blow his nose several times and wipe away the allergic tears. "I'm sorry I woke you."

 

"Don't worry about that. I think we should get you to the hospital though. You really don't sound good." She could hear him wheezing again as he breathed and it definitely sounded worse than before he went to sleep. She definitely didn't want to risk waiting until morning to get him to a doctor.

 

Hook didn't argue and simply nodded his agreement. He felt like he was dying and as much as he hated the idea of being in the hospital again, he didn't feel like he had any other choice. He got out of bed and stood up, but a sudden wave of dizziness came over him and his knees buckled.

 

Emma caught hold of him before he fell and managed to get him back into bed. She frowned and felt a stab of fear strike her when she noticed that his lips were tinged with blue. She wasn't sure if this had in fact turned into asthma or if it was something else, but whatever the reason he wasn't getting enough air. "Ok I think I'd better call an ambulance." Hook only nodded feeling too weak and out of breath to speak. Emma made the call and gave the relevant details. "Ok, just hang in there. Help will be here soon." There was no response and she realized he was unconscious. "Killian?" she said as she gently shook him. Still no response. She placed her hand about an inch in front of his mouth and nose and couldn't feel any breath coming out. "Dammit Killian! Don't you dare die on me!" She climbed on top of him and had flashbacks of his near drowning as she gave him mouth to mouth resuscitation. After what seemed like an eternity, but was really only several seconds, Hook coughed repeatedly and then took deep wheezing breaths. He seemed confused and disoriented, but he clung to her with a look of fear in his eyes. "You passed out and stopped breathing. I had to revive you. The ambulance should be here soon." She stroked his hair trying to soothe him. "You're going to be ok," she said trying to reassure herself as much as him. Hook opened his mouth to speak, but Emma stopped him. "Don't try to talk right now, save your strength. Whatever you have to tell me, you can tell me later."

 

Hook shook his head. What he had to say could not wait until later. His nose was tickling again and he felt he would start sneezing again at any moment. With Emma in such close proximity he didn't want to sneeze all over her. "Tissues..." he managed to gasp out and gestured towards the box on the night stand. Emma quickly grabbed the box, pulled out a handful of tissues, and handed them to him. He brought them to his face, his breath hitched a couple of times and then he succumbed to a fit of small rapid fire sneezes. The sneezes were quite weak compared to most of the other ones that past day because he was unable to take in as much air to fuel them. He blew his nose and then rubbed at it vigorously as the sneezes hadn't been strong enough to get rid of the tickle. Weak though the fit was, it took a lot out of him and he closed his eyes in exhaustion.

 

"Hey stay with me!" Emma said shaking him gently afraid that he was going to stop breathing again.

 

Hook briefly opened his eyes before closing them again. "I'm here. Just so tired..." he murmured in barely more than a whisper. He took her hand in his and gave it a small squeeze to assure her he was still alive.

 

Emma squeezed his hand back and rubbed her thumb against his palm in small circles. Then she heard the sound of the ambulance siren and could see the flashing lights through the window. She tried to get up, but Hook wouldn't let go of her hand. He opened his eyes and gave her a pleading look. "I'm sorry, but I've got to go downstairs and meet the paramedics so they won't have any trouble finding the room," she explained. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Instead of letting her go, Hook squeezed her hand harder and pulled her down towards him and kissed her as passionately as he could in his weakened state as if he thought it was the last chance he'd have to do so. Emma kissed him back until he pulled away turning his head to the side to cough a few times. He reluctantly let go of her hand. Emma briefly kissed him one last time. "I'll be back soon."

 

She got up, left the room and ran down the stairs. Emma reached the front door just as the ambulance pulled up. She ran outside and began filling the paramedics in on everything that had happened since the previous afternoon, including her need to give Hook mouth to mouth resuscitation, as they unloaded the stretcher from the ambulance. They followed her with the stretcher up the stairs to Hook's room. They wheeled the stretcher up next to the bed and lifted Hook from the bed onto the stretcher. Hook let out an involuntary groan as the movement exacerbated the pain in his ribs. Emma held his hand as the paramedics took his vitals, listening to his heart and lungs, taking his temperature and blood pressure and measured his oxygen saturation with one of those finger sensors. One paramedic placed an oxygen mask over Hook's mouth and nose while the other one inserted an IV line into his left arm. Hook winced at the small stab of pain from the IV needle but felt relief from the oxygen mask. Gradually he started to feel more alert as more oxygen got into his system. Emma placed a box of tissues on his lap. "Just in case." She smiled at him but it was a smile full of worry.

 

Emma followed the paramedics as they wheeled Hook down the stairs and loaded him into the ambulance. Just as the paramedics were about to close the ambulance doors Hook called out to Emma, his voice muffled by the oxygen mask. Emma debated whether or not she should ride in the ambulance. She really wanted to be there with him, but she was the sheriff and had responsibilities so she really needed to have her car with her in case there was some other emergency she needed to see to. "I'm sorry, I can't ride in the ambulance with you, but these men are going to take good care of you. I'm going to follow you in my car and I'll see you as soon as we reach the hospital," Emma promised. Hook nodded sadly and then the paramedics closed the doors and drove off with the lights still flashing, but the siren off. Emma dashed to her car and drove off after the ambulance, nearly forgetting to put on her seat belt in her hurry. As she drove thoughts of all the things that could go wrong were racing through her head and she prayed with her whole being the he would still be alive by the time they reached the hospital.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hook is admitted to the hospital for treatment and testing and becomes a bit loopy on the medication he is given.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Adult Themes
> 
> Spoilers: Spoilers for up to the Season 3 finale.
> 
> Author's Notes: This story was originally written before Season 4 aired and was supposed to take place shortly after the end of Season 3. Then it turned out that Season 4 started immediately after Season 3 ended, so just because of how the story was written and how Season 4 turned out, I want to say that it should actually take place during Season 4 between episodes 3 and 4. Because of these circumstances though, there won't be any mention made of any events that happen during Season 4 except for a few small details that are pure coincidence and there is some stuff that contradicts events some stuff from Season 4 a bit as well.

Emma rubbed her eyes trying to stay awake. She'd barely seen Hook for two minutes after she'd arrived at the hospital before they took him away to have a chest x-ray and she was left in the waiting room to fill out paperwork. The forms were tedious and there were some questions that she didn't know the answer to, but she filled them out the best she could. She handed the paperwork to the receptionist and then slumped down in a chair again. She was so tired and worried that tears formed in her eyes in spite of herself. She quickly wiped the tears away. She knew that she should relax. Hook had looked slightly better and seemed to be doing well on the oxygen mask, but it was hard not to worry when she'd come so close to losing him... again. She had a sudden urge to call her parents and probably would have if it wasn't so damn early. There was nothing they could do anyway so she might as well let them sleep. She'd let them know what was going on at a more reasonable hour. Despite her anxiety she was very tired and just as she was starting to doze off she saw Dr. Whale walking toward her. He also looked very tired and disheveled as though he'd been asleep in the on call room when the paramedics brought Hook in. "Doctor Whale, how's he doing? Can I see him?"

 

"He's stable, but we're going to have to admit him," Whale answered. "You can see him as soon as he's been settled into his room. The chest x-ray shows fluid in his lungs, but he's breathing well enough on oxygen. I've got him on a cocktail of antihistamines and steroids as well as preventative antibiotics. If the fluid doesn't clear out of his lungs by itself, I might have to surgically drain it."

 

"Shit, I really should have brought him in after dinner," said Emma. "I just thought the wheezing was because his ribs were hurting so much from all the sneezing and coughing. Does this mean that whatever he's allergic to is giving him asthma?"

 

"There might be an asthma component, but I couldn't say for sure at this point. His coughing and difficulty breathing might just be solely due to the mucous in his lungs."

 

"This is all my fault. I should have brought him in as soon as I realized..." Emma trailed off.

 

"Realized what?" Whale asked gently.

 

"That he had mixed rum with the antihistamines I gave him," said Emma biting her lip.

 

Whale raised an eyebrow. "Well as bad as mixing alcohol with antihistamines can be, I don't believe that's the reason for the fluid in his lungs. It might be entirely from the allergic reaction itself, or he might have already been fighting off a respiratory infection at the time the allergy attack started. I ordered blood work to check for infection as well as a battery of allergy tests, but it will take time to get the results back. Skin testing is much faster but he's in no condition to have that done right now."

 

Emma sighed. "Even if the alcohol had nothing to do with his deterioration, if I'd brought him here because I was worried about that, then it still would have gotten him here sooner, and you could have started treating him before he got this bad, before he almost died."

 

Whale wasn't sure what to say. She did have a point. "Try not to dwell on it. Hook's here now and he'll receive the very best care."

 

"Thanks Doctor," Emma said giving him a weak smile. It was nearly an hour later before a nurse came to fetch her and said that she'd better get down to his room as he was asking for her and getting agitated. She made her way down to Hook's room and pulled up a chair next to his bed. He opened his eyes and murmured something, but his voice was muffled through the oxygen mask and she couldn't make it out. "Sorry I can't understand you."

 

Hook pulled the oxygen mask down from his face. "I said I don't want any jello. I don't care if it's medicinal, it's revolting."

 

Emma couldn't help but laugh. "Jello is not medicinal. It's not even very good for you. It's comfort food. They serve it to boost morale, but I guess everyone has a different idea of what comfort food is. Some people prefer chocolate, cake, or even pasta. Don't worry about the jello, you don't have to eat it."

 

Hook nodded. "I'd much prefer chocolate. At least that's something I could actually recognize as being edible." Hook closed his eyes and grinned.

 

"What are you smirking about?"

 

"I was just imagining applying melted chocolate to your lips and licking it off." Hook answered.

 

Emma couldn't help but shudder at that image but she also rolled her eyes. "You must be feeling better. Did they give you pain killers?"

 

Hook nodded happily and giggled. "It's good stuff. They put it right into my arm and my ribs don't hurt anymore."

 

Emma didn't remember him being this giddy on pain killers the last time he was in the hospital, but combined with the antihistamines they must be having an odd effect on him. "I'm glad you're feeling better. I hate to see you in pain and I was so worried about you." She squeezed his hand careful not to dislodge the oxygen sensor on his index finger.

 

Hook squeezed her hand back. "I'm fine love. Let's go dancing tomorrow. You're a good dancer."

 

Emma smiled. "I don't think you'll be up to it tomorrow, but sure we can go dancing when you're feeling better if you really want to."

 

Hook nodded eagerly. "And then we can eat cake and pasta. Do I like pasta?"

 

Emma managed to suppress her laughter. "Yes, you seemed to enjoy the ravioli we had the other night. Now settle down, you need to rest." Hook's expression suddenly changed to a grimace. At first she thought he was going to protest her orders to rest, but then he started sniffling and rubbing at his nose. Emma looked around and found a box of tissues on the nightstand. She picked them up and placed them on the bed next to Hook.

 

Hook pulled a few tissues out of the box and quickly brought them to his face. A few seconds passed before the tickle in his nose escalated. He inhaled sharply then let out two weak tired sounding sneezes. He paused then sneezed twice more somewhat more forcefully. He coughed a few times and then blew his nose. "These tissues are awful. They feel like sandpaper," Hook complained.

 

Emma winced in sympathy. The cheap hospital tissues would feel rough on anyone, but she could only imagine how uncomfortable they would be on Hook who's nose was so red and swollen he could give Rudolph a run for his money. "What happened to the ones you brought with you?"

 

"All gone..." Hook answered before breaking off into a painful sounding coughing fit.

 

"Jeez, your nose is really stubborn. All those drugs you've got pumped into you and it's still insisting on making you sneeze." Emma noticed that he was starting to wheeze again and she placed the oxygen mask back on his face. He seemed to relax and breathe easier after a few moments. "Ok you really need to get some sleep now." Hook moved over to one side of the bed as much as possible and briefly removed his oxygen mask to ask her to lie next to him. Emma frowned. It would be a tight squeeze, but it would be better than sleeping in the chair and she certainly wasn't going to leave him to go home and sleep in her own bed. She climbed into bed next to him careful not to get tangled in his IV line. Hook put his arms around her and rested his head on her shoulder. She kissed him on the forehead and stroked his hair until he fell asleep. Emma fell asleep shortly afterwards hoping that Hook would get better soon and that the blood work would give them some answers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hook starts to improve after being treated at the hospital, but unfortunately it will be a long wait for all of the test results to come back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Adult Themes
> 
> Spoilers: Spoilers for up to the Season 3 finale.
> 
> Author's Notes: This story was originally written before Season 4 aired and was supposed to take place shortly after the end of Season 3. Then it turned out that Season 4 started immediately after Season 3 ended, so just because of how the story was written and how Season 4 turned out, I want to say that it should actually take place during Season 4 between episodes 3 and 4. Because of these circumstances though, there won't be any mention made of any events that happen during Season 4 except for a few small details that are pure coincidence and there is some stuff that contradicts events some stuff from Season 4 a bit as well.

Emma awoke to the sound of the alarm on her phone going off. She quickly silenced it so as not to wake Hook up. She yawned and stretched and then looked over at the man sleeping next to her. He looked so peaceful right now that if it weren't for the oxygen mask and his still red nose, you wouldn't know there was anything wrong with him. She gently stroked his cheek and then climbed out of the bed and went out into the hallway. She called her father and let him know what was going on and that he'd need to cover her sheriff duties for the day. She went back into the room and sat down in the chair next to the bed and just watched Hook sleep for awhile.

 

After a few minutes Hook woke up and opened his eyes. He smiled at Emma and pulled down his oxygen mask. "Good morning princess."

 

Emma snorted. With her sleep tousled hair and her yesterday's rumpled clothing she hardly looked like a princess. She wasn't sure if he was still loopy from the drugs or if he was being genuinely flirtatious, but what the hell, she could flirt right back. "Good morning Captain Jones," she said smirking, and then a bit more seriously, "How are you feeling?"

 

"I feel like I need to get out of this bed," Hook answered struggling to sit up.

 

"No, lie down. You need to rest. Whatever you need I can get for you," Emma insisted.

 

"Aye, I do need rest, but I'd prefer not to soil the bed."

 

"Oh, right," Emma mumbled and helped him out of bed.

 

Hook leaned heavily on his IV pole as he stumbled into the bathroom. He looked around for a few minutes and then feeling confused he called out to Emma, "Why isn't it bigger on the inside? I've got Daleks to defeat."

 

Emma covered her face with the palm of her hand. She never should have let him watch Doctor Who, but he'd been so interested in time travel after their ordeal. He was clearly still out of it from the medication. "Because it's not a Tardis, and there are no Daleks. It's a bathroom and you need to use it, remember?"

 

"Oh, yes right," came Hook's embarrassed reply.

 

As Emma listened to Hook move around in the bathroom she made a mental note to herself to keep him away from science fiction for the time being. She absolutely could not let him see Star Wars. If he knew where her Princess Leia alias came from he'd never let her live it down. When Hook had finished in the bathroom she helped him back into bed. A nurse came in to take his vitals and change his IV bags. "Have there been any results yet on the blood work?" Emma asked the nurse as she was taking Hook's temperature.

 

"I'm not sure," the nurse answered. "I'll have to check with the doctor. He should be in soon to talk to you anyway."

 

"Ok thanks." The nurse left and they waited for Doctor Whale to come in. "Is there anything you need?" Emma asked Hook.

 

Hook thought for a moment and then grinned, "It would seem that I am in desperate need of a good morning kiss." Emma smiled indulgently at him and leaned over to kiss him. After she pulled away Hook groaned softly as his nose started to tickle. He sniffed which only seemed to intensify the tickle in his nose. He pulled a few tissues from the box, brought them up to his face, inhaled sharply, and started sneezing. He sneezed three times forcefully pausing briefly between each sneeze, and then sneezed another four smaller more rapid sneezes. He blew his nose as gently as he could, but the rough tissues were still painful against his sore nose. "I could use some better tissues as well, before I have no skin left on my nose."

 

Emma nodded sympathetically. She glanced at Hook's IV bags and saw that there was indeed a new bag containing antihistamines. Hopefully they'd kick in soon and then he wouldn't be sneezing too much for awhile. Even so it seemed that Hook's allergy was too strong to be fully suppressed by the IV medication. "I'd be happy to get you some, but it means I'd have to leave the hospital. Will you be alright here without me?"

 

Hook muffled two more sneezes into a fresh wad of tissues and then shrugged. "I shall certainly miss your company, but I'm in a hospital. If I require assistance I need only to press the call button."

 

Emma chuckled. "Yeah that's true. Well I'll go to the store for you after we see the doctor."

 

A few minutes later Doctor Whale entered the room looking less disheveled than when Emma last saw him, but still tired. He listened to Hook's breathing with a stethoscope for a couple of minutes. "Well your lungs certainly sound better than they did last night. The medication must be helping. I still hear some crackling, but you're not wheezing anymore. If you should get worse again, use the oxygen mask and press your call button. In the event that you deteriorate again it might be necessary to do a nebulizer treatment."

 

"What about the blood work?" Hook asked.

 

"The preliminary results show that this is definitely an allergic reaction rather than an infection, but I'm going to keep administering preventative antibiotics because your condition leaves you more prone to develop an infection. I'm still waiting on the results of the more extensive allergy tests," Whale answered. "Once we figure out what you are allergic to, I'll be able to determine the best way to treat you. Well I've got other patients to see now. I hope you feel better soon." Both Emma and Hook thanked him as he left.

 

"I guess I'd better get going," Emma said as she gathered up her things. "Is there anything else you want besides tissues?"

 

"Some breakfast perhaps?" said Hook. "I'm starting to get hungry."

 

"It's still early. I'm sure an orderly will be bringing you something to eat soon." Emma kissed him on the cheek and left quickening her pace as she heard the sound of Hook sneezing behind her.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma picks up a few things to bring Hook at the hospital and convinces Mr. Gold to give her a lesson in healing magic while Mary Margaret keeps Hook company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Adult Themes
> 
> Spoilers: Spoilers for up to the Season 3 finale.
> 
> Author's Notes: This story was originally written before Season 4 aired and was supposed to take place shortly after the end of Season 3. Then it turned out that Season 4 started immediately after Season 3 ended, so just because of how the story was written and how Season 4 turned out, I want to say that it should actually take place during Season 4 between episodes 3 and 4. Because of these circumstances though, there won't be any mention made of any events that happen during Season 4 except for a few small details that are pure coincidence and there is some stuff that contradicts events some stuff from Season 4 a bit as well.

Emma stopped off at home first to shower and change her clothes. After getting dressed she went in the kitchen and fixed herself a quick breakfast of cereal and orange juice. She wasn't really hungry, but she knew she had to keep up her strength, for Hook's sake, if not her own. As she finished up her meal her mother entered the room and sat down in the chair next to her. "Sorry, I didn't wake you up when I came in did I?"

 

"No, I was already up feeding your brother," Mary Margaret assured her.

 

"How is he?" Emma asked out of politeness, but in reality had too much on her mind to really be worried about her baby brother.

 

"He's fine. He's sleeping now. I'm more worried about how you're doing," said Mary Margaret placing her hand on top of Emma's.

 

"I guess you heard what happened then."

 

"Only as much as you told David, that Hook is in the hospital and you needed him to take over your sheriff duties for today."

 

"Yeah," said Emma. She'd forgotten that she hadn't given her father any details. "I'm just exhausted and emotionally drained."

 

Mary Margaret nodded. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

 

Emma took a deep breath before replying. "We went for a hike in the woods yesterday afternoon and we were just relaxing in this clearing when he started having an allergy attack. I thought he was reacting to the wildflowers there, but then he just kept getting worse after we left and he got really bad last night. He was having a lot of trouble breathing and I had to call an ambulance..." Emma trailed off and suddenly overcome with emotion she choked back a sob before continuing. "He almost died Mom. He stopped breathing before the ambulance got there and I had to revive him." Mary Margaret drew her into a hug and held her as she cried silently on her shoulder for a few minutes. Emma pulled out of the embrace when she had got the crying out of her system. She almost felt embarrassed to have called Mary Margaret Mom. It wasn't the first time she had called her parents Mom and Dad rather than Mary Margaret and David, but it still felt strange, especially since she was around the same age as they were due to the curse. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be bothering you with all of this when you've got a new baby to worry about."

 

"Don't be silly," said Mary Margaret. "I'm your mother too and it's my job to worry about you no matter how old you are. Besides, your father and I have grown rather fond of Hook."

 

"You have?" said Emma not quite believing what her mother said.

 

"Of course. Admittedly he was a rather unpleasant person when we first met him to say the least, but he's grown and changed a lot since then, and I think you had a lot to do with that change."

 

Emma nodded. She knew that all of the heroic things that he'd done, he'd done for her. At first she thought he was just trying to win her like a prize, but after their time travel adventure she realized that he had genuinely fallen in love with her. "It's funny how much I used to despise him and now I can't imagine living without him."

 

Mary Margaret smiled knowingly. "Yes that's very much how David and I fell in love as well. Are you going to head back to the hospital now?"

 

Emma shook her head. "I've got some errands I need to run for Hook first and I'm not sure how long it's going to take. Do you think you might be willing to go to the hospital and sit with him for awhile? I really hate to ask you this. I know you've got a lot to deal with right now with baby Neal, but I'm just not sure who else I can ask. I'm really worried about him. I know he'll be safe in the hospital, but I'd still rather he not be left alone for too long."

 

"I'd be happy to."

 

"Are you sure?" Emma asked uncertainly. "I know it's not always the best thing to bring babies to the hospital if it's not necessary."

 

"It'll be fine. I'll just drop him off in the nursery while I'm visiting."

 

"Thanks Mom. I really appreciate this," said Emma hugging her mother again. Before leaving Emma grabbed her laptop and a few DVDs figuring she could watch them with Hook at the hospital. She drove to the drug store and purchased four large family sized boxes of the really good tissues with the lotion in them. Next she drove to the library figuring that she should get Hook a couple of books to read in case he wasn't in the mood to watch movies. She wasn't sure what he liked to read but knowing him she thought he would probably prefer something with a lot of adventure. She selected Treasure Island at first, but then she thought she shouldn't just assume he'd want to read books with pirates in them so she pulled Gulliver's Travels off the shelf as well. After checking the books out she made a quick stop at the Bed and Breakfast to pick up Hook's reading glasses. Her last stop was Mr. Gold's pawn shop. She took a deep breath before entering the shop, the bells tinkling gently as the door closed behind her.

 

Gold emerged from the back room. "Hello Miss Swan. What can I do for you on this fine morning?" Gold greeted her with insincere cheerfulness.

 

"I need a favor," said Emma matter-of-factly.

 

"I see," said Gold. "I suppose you'll be wanting this favor without payment since we're family now?"

 

"Yes, because that's what family does. A family member needs a favor and you do it without trying to keep score," Emma answered starting to feel her tension rise.

 

Gold sighed. "Very well. What sort of favor did you need?"

 

"I need you to teach me healing magic."

 

Gold raised an eyebrow. "Well now Dearie, that is quite the favor. Healing magic is no simple matter. It will take time for me to teach you. Since I detect a hint of urgency in your voice, perhaps it would be best if I did the healing myself and gave you lessons some other time. Just who is it that is in need of healing?"

 

"Um does it really matter?" Emma said knowing that Gold would be unlikely to help her if he knew that it was Hook that needed healing. "I can be a very quick learner when I put my mind to it."

 

"I don't know what sort of healing is needed here," said Gold, "but depending on the circumstances it might not be possible for even The Savior to learn the necessary skills in a single lesson. Besides, do you really think I'm that stupid? There's only one person who you'd be reluctant to tell me about because you know I won't help them."

 

Suddenly angry, Emma snapped at him. "Oh give it a rest already! What happened between you and Hook was a long time ago. You're both different people now than you were then and it's time to bury the hatchet. You've got a new wife now who loves you in a way your first wife never did, so stop holding onto the past." Gold raised his hand as if to strike her, but he managed to stop himself and Emma kept right on talking. "Even if you can't let go of your hatred towards him, you'll do this for me because we're family. If circumstances were different you might have been my father-in-law and you're my son's grandfather which means we're linked by blood. If you want a relationship with Henry, and I think you do, then do the right thing here. Henry is rather fond of Hook, and if you don't help me, I'll make sure he finds out about it. And if even that isn't enough motivation for you, I have something you want which will serve as payment for this favor." Emma took her phone out of her pocket and pulled up a picture of Neal and showed it to Gold.

 

Gold snatched the phone from Emma and looked through the various pictures of Neal, some of them by himself, and some with Emma or Henry looking happy in all of them. When he found a single picture of him with his son sharing a meal together at Granny's tears welled up in his eyes. "Bae... my boy... my son..." Gold murmured. He drew Emma into a tight embrace. "Thank you Emma. You have no idea what this means to me. I'm glad to see that my son was able to find some happiness in his life, even if it wasn't with me."

 

"Um no problem," said Emma uncomfortable with this sudden display of affection. "If you help me, I'll take all of these pictures and more and make them into a photo album for you."

 

Gold nodded and withdrew from the embrace wiping the tears from his eyes then handed the phone back to Emma. "That is ample payment. I won't heal him myself though. I'll just teach you the best I can."

 

"That's all I was asking for."

 

"What is the nature of the pirate's malady?"

 

"He's been suffering from a severe allergic reaction and nearly died last night. He's currently in the hospital and under Doctor Whale's care. He's doing better than he was when he was first admitted to the hospital, but I'm afraid he might deteriorate again before they can figure out what he's reacting to," Emma explained.

 

Gold thought for a moment. "I'm afraid I don't know how to cure an allergy. It wasn't exactly a common ailment in the Enchanted Forest. It could take me weeks to devise a cure, and even then I'm not sure I could do it without knowing what he's allergic to. The best I can do is teach you healing to ease his symptoms. It should work the same way it would when doing healing on a person ill with a cold or flu."

 

Emma nodded. "Ok just tell me what I have to do."

 

"While most magic can be done by channeling your anger into power, this is not so with healing magic. When healing someone you must channel power through love," Gold began.

 

"Yeah I guess that makes sense." Emma suspected that even if Gold was willing to heal Hook directly, it might not be possible for him.

 

"Healing that is done to ease the symptoms of an illness is not all that different from healing that is done to treat an injury and that is what I will use to teach you." Gold grabbed a sharp letter opener from the front counter and made a long gash across the palm of his left hand, gritting his teeth against the pain as he did so. "Now focus on my wound and visualize it closing up." Emma held her hands over Gold's wound and concentrated but nothing happened. "Remember, channel feelings of love when you practice healing."

 

Emma tried again, but still nothing happened. "Sorry," she murmured knowing it was obvious that she failed because she felt no love for the man.

 

"You're making this harder than it has to be," said Gold. "You don't need to feel love for the person you are healing. You can focus on the love you have for anyone. Think of your parents, your son, Baelfire, or even your beloved pirate if you must. I know that this can be extremely hard if not impossible to do if you are trying to heal someone you dislike, but as The Savior, I have faith that you can do better in that area than I can."

 

Emma tried one last time concentrating on closing up the wound while thinking of her love for Henry figuring that would be the best option as Henry was the blood link between them. A soft yellow light came out of her hands and flowed over Gold's wound. Within seconds the wound closed up without a trace. Emma looked up at Gold and grinned. "Wow, I actually did it. I don't suppose I can use this magic to regrow his hand?"

 

Gold smirked. "I'm afraid not Dearie. You'd need the severed hand and that's long gone. Now in order to use what you've learned here and apply it to an illness, or an allergy as the case is, just change your visualization to focusing on the symptoms and making them disappear. I warn you though that the effects will only be temporary and he might not experience complete relief of his symptoms if he is still being exposed to whatever he is allergic to."

 

"Understood," said Emma. "Thank you for helping me with this. Maybe some other time you could teach me some more advanced healing methods?"

 

"I will consider it," Gold replied. "For now I suppose you'd better get back to the hospital and test out your newfound skills."

 

"Yeah, one more thing before I go," said Emma. "Do you have any handkerchiefs in the shop I could purchase?"

 

"I believe I have just the thing," said Gold grinning mischievously. He went into the back of the shop and returned a few minutes later with a small box which he handed to Emma.

 

Emma opened the box and inside were several men's handkerchiefs that looked antique but were in pristine condition. She removed one from the box and unfolded it to examine it. There was lovely Celtic knotwork as a border and there was a monogram in one corner. Emma's eyes widened when she saw that the monogram read "KJ". She wanted to ask where he'd gotten them, but of course he must have gotten them where he got everything. It just showed up in his shop via the curse. "These are perfect. How much do I owe you for them?"

 

"Consider them a gift," said Gold solemnly. "The photo album you promised is worth more to me than you know."

 

"Thank you," said Emma hugging Gold of her own volition this time. When he returned her hug she wondered if this could be the beginning of a new friendship between them. She said goodbye and drove off heading back to the hospital.

 

\------

 

Not long after Emma left Hook's breakfast arrived and he ate it as quickly as he could with his severe congestion. At least the sneezing had stopped. The medication they had in the hospital must be much better than what was available for purchase in the store. After he finished eating he became bored rather quickly so he decided to get out of bed and go for a walk. The drugs had him feeling quite wobbly and he leaned on his IV pole rather heavily. He hadn't gone very far when a nurse found him and escorted him rather forcefully back to bed. He knew he needed rest, but he was just so bored and he wanted to get up and do something.

 

He found the remote for the hospital room's TV and after a few tries managed to get it turned on. With more fiddling he figured out where the volume and channel buttons were and flipped through the channels for awhile. He was unable to find anything interesting to watch. He much preferred shows and movies on those disks or that Netflix thing so he could choose what he wanted to watch, or as the case usually was Emma chose what she wanted to watch, but it was still usually more interesting than what was currently available on the TV. Eventually he turned the TV off in frustration. What he wouldn't give for a good book right now. The drugs were making him very groggy though so he decided to try to sleep hoping that Emma would be back by the time he woke up.

 

When Hook woke up and opened his eyes he saw a woman sitting in the chair next to his bed, but it wasn't Emma. He blinked a few times before his drug addled mind allowed him to recognize who it was. "Snow? What are you doing here? Where's Emma?"

 

"Oh good, you're awake. Emma said she had to run some errands for you and asked me to come keep you company," said Mary Margaret. "I was afraid you'd sleep the whole time and not even know I was here."

 

"While I appreciate the thought, shouldn't you be at home taking care of the baby?"

 

"It's no trouble. I dropped him off at the hospital nursery. They'll take good care of him there. I wanted to come and see how you were doing. We're all worried about you."

"All?" asked Hook. "How many people know I'm here?"

 

"Well I mostly meant me, David, and Emma, but I imagine Ruby and Granny know since you were picked up by an ambulance in the middle of the night."

 

Hook felt touched that Emma's parents worried so much about him. It seemed like not too long ago they didn't trust him and he was generally unliked by the people of the town. It would take some time to get used to the fact that people respected him and even admired and cared about him. "I didn't know you cared so much about me."

 

"Well I have to if you're going to be my son-in-law," said Mary Margaret jokingly.

 

"Son-in-law?" Hook squeaked in surprise missing Mary Margaret's humorous tone. Sure he was deeply in love with Emma and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but she had only recently started reciprocating his feelings and it was far too soon to discuss marriage.

 

Mary Margaret giggled. "Relax, I'm only teasing."

 

Hook sighed with relief. "What errands was Emma running?" As far as he knew she was only going to buy him tissues and according to the clock she'd been gone for over two hours.

 

"I don't know, all she said was that she had to run errands for you. She didn't say where she was going. I'm sure she'll be back soon," Mary Margaret assured him. "Anyway how are you feeling?"

 

"How do I look?"

 

"Pretty awful," Mary Margaret admitted.

 

"Then I'd say I feel about as bad as I look," Hook concluded. "Though I have improved much since I arrived. I was near death and that's not an exaggeration."

 

Mary Margaret nodded. "I know, Emma told me. I really hope you get better soon."

 

"Thank you, I hope I do as well." Hook chatted with Mary Margaret about miscellaneous inane topics, but they quickly ran out of things to talk about and their conversation was filled with awkward silences. Hook was about to start faking yawns so he could pretend to go to sleep so she wouldn't feel obligated to talk to him when her phone started ringing.

 

Mary Margaret answered her phone and stepped out into the hall to talk and came back in a couple of minutes later. "That was Emma. She just pulled up in the hospital parking lot. I'm going to go down to the nursery and pick up Neal. Emma is going to meet me down there so she can visit with her brother for a few minutes and then she'll come back to see you after that."

 

Hook nodded. "Farewell and thank you for your company."

 

Mary Margaret smiled. "You're welcome. Try to get some rest and feel better."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma returns to the hospital and tries to use her new found skills in healing magic on Hook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Adult Themes
> 
> Spoilers: Spoilers for up to the Season 3 finale.
> 
> Author's Notes: This story was originally written before Season 4 aired and was supposed to take place shortly after the end of Season 3. Then it turned out that Season 4 started immediately after Season 3 ended, so just because of how the story was written and how Season 4 turned out, I want to say that it should actually take place during Season 4 between episodes 3 and 4. Because of these circumstances though, there won't be any mention made of any events that happen during Season 4 except for a few small details that are pure coincidence and there is some stuff that contradicts events some stuff from Season 4 a bit as well.

Emma returned carrying a large backpack which she set down on the floor next to Hook's bed and sat down in the bedside chair. Hook glanced at the backpack questioningly but didn't say anything. "How are you feeling since I left?"

 

"I feel like I'm recovering from the flu from hell, but admittedly much better than I was last night," Hook answered. "You were gone longer than I expected."

 

Emma smirked. "Missed me that much did you?"

 

"I just didn't anticipate a trip to buy tissues would take two and a half hours," said Hook not admitting that he did in fact miss her.

 

Emma nodded. "Well I went home first to shower and change my clothes and have a quick breakfast. Then I picked up a few other things for you besides the tissues. Since I'm not sure how long you're going to be here I brought my laptop and a few movies and got some books for you from the library to keep you occupied."

 

"Amazing, while you were gone I was wishing that I had a book to read." Hook sniffed as he felt a faint tickle start to form in his nose causing it to run slightly. "I think I could do with those tissues now though." Emma pulled a shopping bag out of the backpack and from that produced a large tissue box which she opened and handed to him. He pulled a couple of tissues from the box and cautiously blew his nose then sighed in relief. They were so soft they were nearly as nice as handkerchiefs. "Thank you, these are much better."

 

"I'm glad," said Emma smiling. "There are a few more boxes here if you need them. Though I have something else here you might like even more." She took the box of handkerchiefs out of her backpack and handed them to him.

 

Hook raised an eyebrow then opened the box. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw what was inside. He unfolded one of the handkerchiefs and examined it to confirm that it was what he thought it was. "Where did you get these? They look just like... but they couldn't be..." Hook trailed off suddenly overcome by emotion, tears forming in his eyes.

 

"I got them from the pawn shop," said Emma. "It was the only place in town I could think of that might stock something like that. When Gold showed them to me I knew they had to belong to you so I took them. I thought you'd be pleased to have them back. Did I do something wrong?"

 

"No not at all," Hook assured her. "It's just... they were a gift from my brother. They are now one of the few things I have left of him. Thank you so much for returning them to me." Hook held out his arms for a hug and Emma climbed onto the bed next to him and put her arms around him and kissed him on the cheek. "I just hate the thought that the crocodile had them this whole time. He didn't charge you too much for them I hope?"

 

"No they were a gift. Well technically I traded for them. I promised Gold I'd make him a photo album with all the pictures I have of Neal," Emma explained.

 

Hook nodded. That didn't seem like too high a price to pay. "Again thank you. You have no idea what this means to me."

 

Emma smiled musing over how Gold had said much the same thing when she promised to make the photo album. "I'm just glad I could do something to cheer you up." She felt Hook stiffen in her embrace. He pulled some tissues from the box, turned away slightly and sneezed five times rapid fire into them. He groaned softly as he blew his nose. "Did you decide you like tissues better than handkerchiefs?"

 

Hook shook his head. "As nice as these tissues are, I don't think I'll ever prefer them. It's just that these handkerchiefs hold too much sentimental value. I couldn't bear to soil them."

 

Emma nodded. "I completely understand. I suppose in your place I wouldn't want to use them either."

 

Hook handed the box of handkerchiefs back to Emma. "Please keep them somewhere safe for me."

 

"Sure thing." Emma picked up her backpack off of the floor and placed the box in the bottom of it.

 

Hook felt the tickle in his nose surge up again. It came on too quickly for him to grab some tissues and he was forced to muffle his sneezes against the back of his wrist. He only sneezed three times, but they were more forceful than his last fit and he felt his ribs start to ache again. "I really hate this."

 

"I know. I want to try something. Do you trust me?"

 

"Aye, of course. With my life," Hook answered without hesitation, though curious what she had in mind.

 

Emma got up and pulled the privacy curtain around the bed. She pressed the button on the bed controls to lower the head of the bed so that Hook was reclining further, but not lying completely flat. She climbed on top of him on the bed kneeling with his legs in between hers. "Ok this might feel a little weird. Are you ready?"

 

Hook fought to keep a straight face. All sorts of naughty thoughts were going through his head, but despite how things looked, he had a feeling that she hadn't anything of that sort in mind. He wasn't sure what she meant to do, but he trusted her. "Aye, go ahead."

 

Emma placed one hand about an inch over his face and the other hand over his ribs. She channeled her feelings of love for him while concentrating on making his symptoms disappear. Soft yellow light flowed out of her hands washing over Hook's face and ribs.

 

As the light washed over him Hook felt a warm soothing sensation. He smiled and closed his eyes. "I have no idea what you're doing, but it feels really good. Don't stop." After a few moments the aching that had started back up in his ribs faded away and he could feel the congestion in his head starting to disappear. Soon all he was left with was the sensation of warmth spreading through his body almost as if he had gotten into a warm bath. He basked in the pleasure of it and just when he thought he might actually start to become aroused Emma collapsed next to him and the warmth slowly began to fade leaving him feeling vaguely tingly all over. "Thank you, that was wonderful."

 

Emma smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I just had no idea it would take so much out of me." Hook smiled lovingly at her as he stroked her back and she snuggled closer to him. She closed her eyes, and just as she was about to doze off Hook started sneezing again. It was a long drawn out fit of at least ten sneezes. His breath would hitch a couple of times and he'd let out two to three harsh sneezes, then he'd pause briefly and the cycle would repeat. When he'd finished he coughed a few times and then blew his nose vigorously. Emma sighed with disappointment. "Damn, it didn't work."

 

"What didn't work?" Hook asked as he wiped allergic tears from his eyes.

 

"In case you didn't notice, I was trying to do healing magic on you," said Emma with a slightly bitter tone in her voice. "Gold gave me a lesson while I was there."

 

"Is that what that was?" said Hook. "I thought you were just trying to relax me. Don't be so hard on yourself. I think you did rather well for only one lesson. It did work, it just didn't last very long. For a little while my congestion and the pain in my ribs was gone."

 

"I know. I just need more practice. Gold even told me the effects would probably just be temporary, but for the amount of energy I spent, I expected more than a few minutes worth of healing."

 

"For what it's worth, I wouldn't mind you doing that again sometime even if no healing was involved. It was one of the best things I've ever felt."

 

"Really?" said Emma finding that hard to believe.

 

"Well one of the best things that didn't involve the two of us sans clothing," Hook replied grinning his devilish grin, the effect largely spoiled by his bloodshot watery eyes and his red swollen nose. His grin turned into a frown as the tickle in his nose rose up again. He was so sick of sneezing and rubbed his nose vigorously trying to make it back off, but as usual this had no effect other than to delay things slightly. Not oblivious to his struggle Emma passed him some fresh tissues. He took them gratefully and muffled four rapid-fire sneezes into them then gently blew his nose.

 

"I think it might be a good idea to put the oxygen mask back on now," Emma suggested.

 

"Why? I'm not having any trouble breathing."

 

"No, but you are sneezing an awful lot for someone who has medication going right into their bloodstream," said Emma. "At least if you're wearing the mask you won't be breathing in whatever is making you sick."

 

Hook sighed. Admittedly he did sneeze a lot less when wearing the oxygen mask, but it was just so annoying having to take it off every time he did need to sneeze so he wouldn't get the inside of it messy, not to mention having to remove it every time he wanted to speak. He knew he'd probably be less miserable overall while wearing it though. "Very well." He had nearly responded with 'As you wish', but had caught himself just in time. He still wasn't sure why that was so funny to Emma, but he'd watch The Princess Bride with her eventually and find out. He grabbed the oxygen mask from where it was hanging on the top of the bed and put it on. He gave her a look as if to say 'Are you happy now?', and she smiled and kissed him on the forehead.

 

They were both too tired to read, but not tired enough to take a nap so they decided to watch a movie. Hook browsed the small selection of movies Emma had brought and couldn't help chuckling when he saw that The Princess Bride was among them. He handed the disk to Emma and she set it up on the laptop and they settled down to watch the movie hoping that the rest of the blood tests would be done by the time it was over.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The cause of Hook's allergy is finally revealed and Emma feels guilty about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. I’m merely borrowing them for my own amusement.
> 
> Warnings: Adult Themes
> 
> Spoilers: Spoilers for up to the Season 3 finale.
> 
> Author's Notes: This story was originally written before Season 4 aired and was supposed to take place shortly after the end of Season 3. Then it turned out that Season 4 started immediately after Season 3 ended, so just because of how the story was written and how Season 4 turned out, I want to say that it should actually take place during Season 4 between episodes 3 and 4. Because of these circumstances though, there won't be any mention made of any events that happen during Season 4 except for a few small details that are pure coincidence and there is some stuff that contradicts events some stuff from Season 4 a bit as well.

When the movie was over Emma closed the lid of her laptop. "So what did you think?"

 

Hook pulled down the oxygen mask before answering. "It was most enjoyable. Though do I really say 'As you wish' that often?"

 

Emma laughed. "Not nearly as much as Westly does, but I have heard you use that phrase on several occasions."

 

"If you were to call me The Dread Pirate Roberts, does that mean I would get to call you Buttercup?" Hook asked with a smirk.

 

"Not if you value your life." Emma said through gritted teeth.

 

Hook laughed. "No, I wouldn't dare. You're more like a pirate yourself than a princess." Hook sniffed as his nose started to tickle, but it faded before he could sneeze leaving him with a runny nose. He grabbed some tissues and blew his nose. Though he'd had the oxygen mask on for most of the movie, he'd still managed to use up most of the first box of tissues with his intermittent sneezes filling the wastebasket next to the bed. Emma gave him a look and he put the mask back on.

 

Doctor Whale entered the room. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Emma sitting in the bed with Hook, but didn't say anything. He was more concerned that Hook was wearing the oxygen mask again. "Did you start wheezing again? I wasn't notified that you had called for help."

 

Hook pulled down the oxygen mask again, "No, my breathing is fine. I've been sneezing a lot though and my nurse here seemed to think it would help."

 

"Though all it's really done is slow it down rather than stop it completely," said Emma. As if to prove her point, Hook gasped, quickly pulled some tissues from the box and muffled three sneezes into them. "See?"

 

Whale nodded and glanced at the wastebasket which was mostly full of used tissues. He listened to Hook's breathing again. "Well your lungs sound pretty good. Maybe even a bit better than they did this morning. It's possible that there might have been some deterioration if you hadn't used the mask. I got the rest of the blood work results back. As I said before, the preliminary blood work showed that you were definitely suffering from an allergic reaction, but the tests to try to determine what you were reacting to all came back negative."

 

Hook sighed. "I don't think I have allergies at all. I think this is some sort of bloody curse."

 

"I highly doubt that," said Emma. "Regina doesn't do that sort of thing anymore, and even if she did, making someone sneeze to death really isn't her style."

 

"I agree. If this was a curse, there wouldn't be anything showing up in the blood work at all," Whale explained. "You're allergic to something, but we just don't know what it is yet. I can run some more tests to check you for less common triggers, but before I do can you think of any time in your life when you had symptoms like this before?"

 

"Like this?" said Hook. "Never. Although..." he trailed off and thought for a moment. "I do seem to recall that when I was a young lad I would suffer headaches and a runny nose around peach trees when they were in bloom. I simply learned to stay out of the orchard that time of year. That was nothing compared to the torment of the last two days though."

 

When Emma heard that, she leapt out of the bed and smacked him on the arm. "You idiot! You complete and utter moron! Why didn't you mention this yesterday?" Emma shouted and then stalked to the other side of the room getting as far from Hook as she could.

 

"Hey!" Hook protested. "Can you really blame me for forgetting a minor episode of my childhood that happened literally centuries ago? Besides I hardly see how it's relevant. I've not see a single peach tree in this town."

 

"There might not be any peach trees in town, but peach blossoms happen to be an ingredient in the new shampoo I started using yesterday," said Emma glaring at him from across the room.

 

Hook chuckled. "I admit the timing makes sense, but as I said, the peach trees only gave me a headache and runny nose."

 

"Allergies can change as you get older," said Whale. "What might have been a minor allergy in childhood could turn into something more serious as an adult."

 

"Well there's an easy way to find out for sure," said Emma. "Just take a good long sniff of my hair."

 

Whale frowned. "I don't think that's a good..."

 

Hook cut him off. "Fine, come back over here." Emma marched back over to the bed and leaned over him. He buried his face in her hair and breathed in deeply through his nose. He immediately regretted doing this as fierce tickles seized his nose. He grabbed the last few tissues from the box and started sneezing explosively into them. The sneezes came quickly, one after another with barely enough time to take a breath between them. The tissues were quickly soaked and Emma ripped open a new box and placed it in his lap. When there was enough of a break between sneezes he grabbed a fresh wad of tissues and attempted to blow his nose, but the vibration caused the sneezes to start up again. Whale ran out of the room and then came back with a syringe injecting it into his IV line. After a minute or so the sneezes started slowing down, though when he wasn't sneezing he was coughing.

 

"Still think you're not allergic to my shampoo?" Emma asked feeling both smug and somewhat guilty at the same time for putting him through this. It was his own fault though for refusing to accept the obvious. Hook shook his head and let out another fit of five sneezes. Emma started gathering up her things leaving only the tissues, the books, and Hook's reading glasses on the bedside table. She picked up her backpack and started to leave the room.

 

"Where are you going?" Hook managed to gasp out as he tried to catch his breath. He blew his nose vigorously and then Whale forced the oxygen mask over his nose and mouth and instructed him to take deep breaths.

 

"I'm leaving before I kill you. I'm going to go buy some new shampoo and wash my hair to get the smell out." Emma answered. "Are there any other minor childhood allergies I should know about before I select a new shampoo?" Hook shook his head and she left without another word.

 

After he'd managed to catch his breath, Hook pushed the oxygen mask away. "Why is she so angry?"

 

"I think she's more angry at herself than you," said Whale gently. "She must be feeling bad knowing that she's the reason you've been so sick."

 

Hook just felt more confused at that reasoning. "But it's not her fault. There's no way she could have known."

 

"Yeah, tell her that when she gets back," Whale replied patting him on the shoulder. "Well I guess it's safe to say that we've identified the cause of your allergy. Since it's something that is easily avoided, once you've recovered you shouldn't need any further treatment. If you've improved enough, you can go home this evening."

 

\------

 

When Emma returned to the hospital a few hours later she saw Hook sitting up in bed reading a book wearing his reading glasses and she couldn't help smiling at the image before her. Yes she definitely liked that look on him she decided. His IV was gone and he had changed out of the hospital gown and robe and back into the pajamas he'd had on when he'd been admitted so he must have been cleared to leave.

 

Hook looked up from his book and saw her standing in the doorway and smiled. "You purposely got me books with small print just so you'd get to see me wearing these glasses again," he accused teasingly.

 

Emma chuckled. "It wasn't intentional, but I can't say I'm disappointed."

 

"You were gone a long time," said Hook with a more serious tone.

 

"Yeah I know. I washed my hair three times just to make sure I got all of the smell from the last shampoo out. Then I just needed some time to clear my head," she explained. "Look I'm sorry I yelled at you before. I just couldn't stand the thought that it was my fault you had nearly died when it was something that could have been easily prevented."

 

"You may have been the cause, but it certainly wasn't your fault," said Hook. "You couldn't have known and I don't blame you." Emma came and sat next to him on the bed and he put his arms around her.

 

"So I guess you're feeling a lot better now?"

 

Hook nodded. "Aye, I'm still congested and sneezing from time to time, but much better than I was. The doctor said I was free to leave and that I should be back to normal in the next day or so." He leaned in and cautiously smelled Emma's hair. The new shampoo didn't smell quite as nice as the last one, but it didn't make his nose tickle either.

 

"Does this shampoo meet your approval?" Emma asked hopefully.

 

"Indeed it does," he replied and kissed her for the first time in two days without having to sneeze. Emma checked him out of the hospital and he sulked about being forced to leave in a wheelchair when he could walk perfectly fine on his own.

 

When they left the hospital the sun was setting and the moon was out already. "I guess I'd better get you home," said Emma. "You still need a lot of rest."

 

"I know, but Granny's really isn't home though." Hook sighed. "I miss The Jolly Roger."

 

"You can see it if you really want. Just look up in the sky." Emma pointed just to the right of the moon.

 

Hook chuckled and shook his head. "No I'm not falling for that again."

 

"Just look," Emma insisted.

 

Hook looked where she was pointing and to his astonishment there was a cloud that looked just like The Jolly Roger in great detail. "How did you do that?"

 

"Magic," said Emma grinning. "You can see The Jolly Roger any time you want, but it's not your home anymore. Home is where the heart is."

 

Hook nodded and smiled. "And my heart is with you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who left comments and kudos! I certainly had a lot of fun writing this story.


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